ART ON THE RIVER

BEING RESEARCHED

ART ON THE RIVER. In 2005 the Dubuque City Council approved an event popularized by other cities. Art on the River was a display of sculptural art in the PORT OF DUBUQUE. In the inaugural event, twenty-one artists from around the United States submitted thirty-nine applications. A panel of three judges chose in a blind review of the displays chose twenty-one for potential exhibit. The Art on the River Committee and the Dubuque Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission then reviewed the recommendations for approval. Although the sculptures were available for sale, the purchasers agreed to leave them for display for a year. (1) In 2007 the City of Dubuque would take twenty-five cent of the sale price for sustaining the program. The rest would go to the artist. (2)

With the size of the buildings being constructed in the Port of Dubuque, artists were asked to "think big" in the third event held in 2008. From the 67 submissions received from thirty-eight artists, ten were chosen to display. Each artist chosen received a stipend of $1,500 to finance their work. Within the past two years, four sculptures had been sold with a portion of the sales going to the city. Sculptors responded to the challenge. Andrew Arvanetes displayed a 6-foot-tall "Tin Man" while Bobby Joe Scribner's red "Hairdo" was 14-feet-wide and 11-feet tall. (3)

In 2011 the City of Dubuque approved spending $260,000 to support three local arts programs in 2012. The money was to be spent on paying bills, begin new projects, and continue the yearlong exhibitions of outdoor sculptures along the RIVER WALK. Art on the River received $30,000 which covered such incidental expenses as the cost of a brochure and renting a crane to install the large pieces. (4)

The eleven pieces chosen in 2017 were meant to tell a story whether viewed separately or as a whole. The media included stone metal, and even a decommissioned traffic sign. A beat-up gas can was intended to appear as a juice box showing the wastefulness in culture. "Pod Stop" made a fabricated steel and traffic signs could be used as a seat to view the river. (5)

In 2018 in its thirteenth year, Art on the River at the Port of Dubuque featured the sculpture by artists from across the nation. That year, however, the annual show offered several new ideas. The MARSHALLESE community performed a traditional dance and presented a hand-crafted scale model of a Marshallese canoe. The 2018 exhibit also had another "first"--a theme for the show. That year's theme was: "driftless" referring to the driftless region of the Midwest of which Dubuque is a part that was untouched by ice age glaciers allowing rolling hills to exist. The other "firsts" were the introduction of a kinetic--motion-based--sculpture, "Mobi," and a light-based sculpture,"Universe." (6)

File:Prairie tussocks.jpg

"Prairie Tussocks" (primitive food source)

Art on the River in 2024 ushered in a weekend of local events including DBQFest in WASHINGTON PARK, Key City Beer and Seltzer Fest, and Music in the Gardens at the DUBUQUE ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL GARDENS. The theme for the event was Culture and Conversation" emphasizing greater diversity to the public art exhibit with remained on the River Walk. (7)

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Source: "

1. Klein, Emily, "9 Sculptures Pose in Port," Telegraph Herald, September 3, 2006, p. 1.

2. Ibid. p. 2

3. Voight, Sandeye, "Sculptures, Art Event Growing," Telegraph Herald, July 24, 2008, p. 3

4. Voight, Sandeye,"City Sculpts $260,000 in Arts Grants," Telegraph Herald, July 21, 2011, p. 3

5. Jones, Tia Carol, "Art on the River Tell the Story of Today," Telegraph Herald, June 30, 2017, p. 5

6. Frenzel, Anthony, "Many 1sts in the 13th Year of Riverside Art," Telegraph Herald, August 4, 2018, p. 5A

7. Gloss, Megan, "Culture and Conversation," Telegraph Herald, August 8, 2024, p. 7